Yanks can’t protect 3-0 lead, drop third straight

Source: FanGraphs

I picked a great game to miss. Didn’t see any of it television and I Gameday’d just a few innings, which was more than enough for me. That early 3-0 lead was nice, but just like the month of April, it was a tease. The Yankees didn’t get a single runner beyond first base after the fourth inning while CC Sabathia melted down in the sixth and seventh innings. Sure, the dinky infield singles hurt, but the Manny Machado two-run double and Nate McLouth go-ahead homer were more than well-struck.

Of course, this is all par for the course these days. The Yankees have an awful offense and Sabathia has been prone to the big inning all year, even after looking dominant early on — he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning with an Alberto Gonzalez error accounting for the only base-runner. Therein lies the real problem. Guys like Gonzalez are playing everyday. David Adams started at first base and sure enough, his inexperience contributed to that three-run sixth, which was not unexpected. In fact, the Yankees had just one player on the field (Robinson Cano) who would have started for the Orioles. Maybe Brett Gardner, but you’d have to really argue that. Either way, the point stands.

That is where this team is at right now. If the so-called Bombers don’t get help soon — and I don’t mean right at the trade deadline either, I mean in the next week or so — they’ll be lucky to go into the All-Star break in third place and not fourth or fifth. The season is half over, it’s time for the front office to actually go out and make some moves to improve the club, something they haven’t done since the 2011-2012 offseason. They’ve now lost three straight, four of their last five, and 19 of their last 31.

Anyway, MLB.com has the box score and video, FanGraphs some other stats, and ESPN the updated standings. The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays and the Rays lost, so the Yankees are four back of Boston, one back of Baltimore, two up on Tampa, and three up on Toronto. This ship … she is a sinkin’. David Phelps and left-hander Zach Britton is your pitching matchup for Saturday afternoon’s night’s game.